When the pupil is ready, the master will appear. 

This old quote, often incorrectly attributed to Buddhism, could be re-tooled for modern technology: when the user is ready, the webmaster will appear. Admittedly, that’s a pretty loose interpretation of a universal statement, but if you’ll forgive the stretch, we can illustrate our point.

Website maintenance is much like any service industry job. The trick is finding the right company to handle the complex technological requirements your organization may have. But, it’s more than that. Of course, you want your webmaster to be skilled and knowledgable, but, like a good mechanic, they should also have the right temperament for the job. Patience is, indeed, a virtue when it comes to handling technical support requests and it’s a skill far too often overlooked.

Hire for attitude, train for skill.

Recently, we encountered a successful businesswoman who helps to reorganize large corporations. She told us that the idea that attitude is more important than raw talent is frequently ignored. The same can be said of outsourcing any part of your business. Factors like cost and skill tend to factor higher than personality. But, can you afford that trade off? When you ask a question, you probably want an answer that no only solves the problem, but helps you understand how to avoid it in the future. That’s why…

Customer service is different from technical support.

Anyone who has ever called their cable company when the internet was out can attest to this fact. Help seems inherent in the concept of support. Not always. It isn’t just about solving a problem. It’s about communicating. It’s about reassuring. And, most importantly, it’s about understanding how to avoid problems in the future. This is where customer service excells and technical support so often falls short. And with good reason…

The web is multi-disciplinary.

A good, full-service webmaster service will have knowledge in design, code, IT, online marketing and a host of other areas of technology. Being able to diagnose an issue requires more than a script and a set of instructions. It means understanding a client’s business and the motivations for decisions they make. It takes longer. It requires more data. It demands attention and patience. That is not the strength of tech support, which is built for efficiency and task management. That won’t soothe frayed nerves when the pressure is on…

We honestly feel a good webmaster is part technician, part support staff and all listener. When a big problem occurs, we want to act quickly and decisively, but we also want to slow down and choose wisely. No one wants the person who is supposed to help them go into a panic. Your webmaster should assuage your concerns, not exacerbate them.

Building that trust so that you’ll know when you send a email or pick up the phone, a problem will get solved, is so important in any service. If your webmaster brings a zen approach to solving the problems of your website, it is peace of mind that allows you to focus on your work and leave the worries associated with your website behind.

Of course, Site Mender can certainly help. If you need assistance making peace with your website, please contact us today!